Matt Hoover » Ironman

Week of Thanks…

Matt Hoover — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 02:35:41 +0000

For the next few days I am going to write about things I am thankful for. Some may be short and others long, but during this holiday season I feel this is an important exercise in gratitude. Tonight I am going to start with my recent Ironman finish. Doing an Ironman requires a ton of sacrafice not only on the athlete's part but their support system as well.

Ironman Florida…. Part 2 (The Bike)

Matt Hoover — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:27:17 +0000

Here is the second part of my Ironman experience this year. If you missed yesterday you might want to go back and read it because I am simply picking up where I left off. Now it's time for the bike ride. As I exited the water, I quickly forgot about how tired I was when I felt the icy cold of the sand. The transition was a pretty good distance away so after a short run up the beach I ran between two buildings and into a parking lot. The parking lot was filled with numbered bags in long lines. Inside those bags was the bike ride gear. After finding my bag I was off to change. Again, it was a nice little jaunt to the changing building.

Becoming an Ironman….. Take 2

Matt Hoover — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:18:51 +0000

"The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense." – Arnold Bennett Well, it's all over. I have become an Ironman on my second attempt. It was a long day, in fact is was a 16 hour and 39 minute day which covered 140.6 miles. I am super proud and perhaps more relieved. I have decided again this year to do multiple blogs detailing the day. So, here we go!

Where is Your True Starting Point?

Matt Hoover — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:17:28 +0000

Yesterday I was out on a bicycle ride with a good friend of mine. As we were riding we started talking about the progress I've made over the past year in the sport of triathlon and how I am feeling as I prep for next Ironman in November. I told him I felt unbelievably different. I am down several pounds, my cycling has improved, and so has my running. Most importantly, my mindset has improved. Last year when I took on the Kona Ironman I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know that carrying around extra weight could affect me as much as it did. Last weekend I was flipping through the channels and caught the replay of the Kona Ironman on NBC. I watched the race and saw my brief segment once again. When I saw myself, I wasn't disappointed, I was a little sad. The reason I was sad was because I knew that I had a false sense of how I looked and felt physically.

Insanity?

Matt Hoover — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:07:59 +0000

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. While I agree with that for the most part, I feel that sometimes you actually Do have to the same thing and expect a different result.

Biggest Loser Marathon

Matt Hoover — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 22:25:53 +0000

My Life After The Biggest Loser Part 1

Matt Hoover — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:07:59 +0000

This is a serious question I want you to think about. What do you suppose would happen to you if you walked up to someone at the grocery store, looked in their cart, and then picked something up and asked them if they should be eating whatever it was that you picked up? They may look at you like you were crazy or they may spray you with a can of pepper spray. This very incident has happened to my wife and I on several occasions. When you go on television you open yourself up to receive unsolicited opinions both bad and good.

The Reality of Reality Weight Loss….

Matt Hoover — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:04:49 +0000

I seriously just erased an entire blog because I didn't like the way it sounded when I read it. I want to talk about some of the realities of being a contestant on The Biggest Loser but I don't want to bash the show. I want to talk about what life is like after but don't want to sound like I am making excuses. Here is what I am going to do. I am going to type what I am thinking and not worry about what others say and here's why.

Kona Ironman 2009 part V

Matt Hoover — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:48:19 +0000

When I could finally see the lights of the Energy Lab I began to get excited. I knew that the turn around was near. My excitement faded quickly when I realized that you didn't just get to the corner and turn around. I had to run down into the area about a mile before the actual turn around. When I hit the turn around Joe and his friend Collin did some quick math. I needed to do under 14 minute miles the rest of the way in to finish. There could be no walking.

Kona Ironman 2009 part IV

Matt Hoover — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:28:41 +0000

I’m not going to lie. I was hurting on the run before I even got out of the chute. In the tri’s I did this summer my feet hurt for a little bit and the pain went away. This was way different. I jogged out the chute and once again the [...]